My change of heart

It’s a good list, and a point of view I would have religiously followed until very recently. So I’m coming out – I’m not so sure about keeping XP anymore.

There, I said it. =) My reasoning before was something like this: “It works fine, and the replacement is junk, so why upgrade?” But I think that with W7, there will not be the same reasons to keep XP around. Here’s a few factors that contribute to my thesis.

1) Hardware standards have come a long way since 2002. A small example? DX10. Yes, I know if you’re not a gamer, you might not care, but it’s just an example. I personally think it’s time to up the ante on the OS and make fuller use of the newer hardware available.

2) That new hardware? It’s getting cheaper. One of the big complaints about Vista was that people had to spend a lot on new hardware to run it. But in the end, this might have been good for the computing world, because it pushed people to get rid of the dinosaur in their basement. But now, you can get an amazing desktop system for $500, or a notebook for $650. The hardware isn’t that expensive at this point.

3) Windows 7. It looks like it’s going to be to Vista what 2K/XP was to ME . On top of that, one of the very points in today’s TR article was that XP will stay around because W7 includes a virtual version of it. Huh? I can see where he’s pointing (that companies will stick with XP software because of the virtual option) but I think it will go the other direction. I think yes, we’ll keep some (not all) of our XP software, but I think companies will eventually ditch XP in favor of W7’s virtual option. And from an IT standpoint, the end is obviously near, and MS will either have to revamp their entire compatibility strategy (way outside the box) or we’ll have to figure out how to make newer software. But for now, I think the virtual XP will facilitate a move to 7, rather than hinder one.

I will say this. Microsoft hit a gold mine with XP. They should take it as a compliment that they themselves haven’t been able to top it yet. But they will need to eventually if they want to keep market share.